Packaging manufacturer and supplier Novolex, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, will acquire certain assets and business operations of Shields Bag and Printing Co., a Yakima, Washington-based manufacturer of custom-engineered flexible packaging products. 

 

The transaction is expected to close near year end. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

 

Founded in 1935, Shields Bag and Printing Co. expanded its founder’s commercial printing business into flexible packaging in the 1960s. Today, Shields is a leading North American producer of flexible packaging with substantial capabilities in blown film extrusion, printing, bag making and other converting processes. Shields’ core focus is providing custom-engineered products to customers across a range of end-market segments, including building and construction, food and consumer, banking and security, lawn and garden, chemicals and energy, and general industrial. 

 

“Becoming part of Novolex will allow the legacy of Shields Bag and Printing and its employees to continue to grow and prosper,” said Shields CEO Lisa Shields. “This is an ideal fit. Novolex leadership is very much aligned with our principles at Shields. They are committed to employee safety and welfare, as well as the communities where they live and work. That’s very important to the Shields’ family and it was an essential requirement for the transaction.”

 

Stan Bikulege, chairman and CEO of Novolex, adds: “We are excited about bringing the Shields Bag and Printing’s team into the Novolex family. This transaction is very important to our shared future. The Shields team and products are a great fit for Novolex. We are pleased to continue and grow the 82-year legacy of success in serving customers created by the Shields Family. And we are proud to welcome more than 500 Yakima-based employees and their families to ours.”        

 

This is Novolex’s seventh acquisition since 2012. Previous acquisitions include Burrows Packaging in November 2016; Heritage Bag in May 2016; Wisconsin Film & Bag in October 2015; Packaging Dynamics in December 2014; Duro Bag in July 2014; and a portion of Clondalkin Group’s North American Flexible Packaging Division in April 2013. 

 

With the addition of Shields, Novolex is a $2.5 billion company with approximately 7,300 employees and 46 manufacturing plants: 41 in the United States, including two plastic recycling facilities; three in Canada; and one each in Mexico and The Netherlands.